


403

by fullmetalsourwolf



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: (kind of), Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Familial Abuse, I Don't Even Know, It just happened, M/M, also jean is in there twice because fck the police, basically my hand slipped, rating will go up at some point yehaw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-16
Updated: 2014-01-10
Packaged: 2018-01-04 21:29:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1085889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fullmetalsourwolf/pseuds/fullmetalsourwolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>woohoo, it's the horse riding au that nobody wanted!<br/>i don't even know what to say about this. Contains horses, tight trousers, lots of leather, copious swearing, shouting in German, and a lot of Arctic Monkeys.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Settling In

**Author's Note:**

> I hold no responsibility for what I just wrote.
> 
> Also Eren is hella gay.

‘Are you sure you have everything?’

‘I’m not checking again. I’ve done that at least fifteen times by now, Liza. I think I have everything.’ Eren smiled at his room mate who was glancing at his bags for the hundredth time ‘I’ll be _fine.’_

‘Got your key?’

‘Got my key.’

‘Got your boots?’

‘Got my boots.’

‘Got your-’

‘Oh my _god! Yes!_ I _have everything!’_ Eren threw his hands up. ‘I really need to hit the road, though. So..guess this is goodbye? For a while?’

Liza wrapped her arms around her best friend in an enormous bear hug. This was the first time in years he was going to be independent of her and it was probably scaring her more than Eren, but she was allowed to be worried, he was an idiot.

‘Okay, Liza, I love you and all, but I also love breathing.’ Eren wheezed from beneath his room mate’s arms. She apologised and released him, laughing sheepishly. Eren picked up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder before picking up his suitcase and walking out the door, waving behind him. Liza leaned against the doorframe, not wanting to get her bare feet dirty on the gravel. 

‘I’ll be back before you know it! Love you!’ Eren called as he slung his bags into the boot of his car.

‘Love you too!’ Liza waved and called, and then Eren’s car pulled out of the driveway and he was gone. Liza rested her head against the doorframe for a couple of seconds, watching the beaten up Golf disappear down the road, smiling to herself before heading back inside. She looked around. It seemed so empty without Eren’s jeans strewn over the back of the sofa, or half full cereal bowls on the kitchen counter, or Eren’s music floating down from his bedroom. She didn’t like the silence, it was eerie, so she turned on the radio and texted Annie asking her to come over before setting about making lunch.

 

Eren tapped the steering wheel and hummed along to the Arctic Monkeys playing through his ipod. He was feeling good. Maybe a little nervous, but who wouldn’t be when they were pretty much starting a new life. New home, new job, new people...it was scary. Nonetheless, Eren was excited. Excited to be back working with horses after two long years without. Excited to meet new people and hopefully replace old memories with better ones. He lost himself in thought for a good half hour; it was easily done on the motorways, until he realised he was almost out of petrol, and so he pulled into a service station to refill and grab a sandwich or something. He refilled his car, wincing at the price and walked into the shop, looking for some food. The drive from Sheffield to Bristol took about three hours and no healthy teenage boy could last that long without food. As he was browsing the pasta salads, his phone rang. He took it out, and, recognising the number, ended the call. He didn’t need that right now. He didn’t ever need _that_ again. He grabbed some food and a drink, paid for it and his petrol and got back on the road, trying not to think about the fact that he had called. That he had got his number. 

_Don’t think about it. Just forget it. He most likely won’t call again._

Eren’s hands gripped the steering wheel. He turned his music up and tried to drown out his thoughts.

After about twenty minutes he was feeling better, munching on a BLT and washing it down with Coke. The rest of the drive passed uneventfully, save for a people carrier almost colliding with him on a back road and the fat, middle aged father shouting abuse out of the window.

Eventually, he pulled up outside a large, red brick building that had once been a hospital but had since been turned into apartments. One of which was his new home. 

 

After he had sorted out parking his car and had been stared down by the doorman built like a brick shithouse, he dragged his suitcase and bag into the lift and pressed for the fourth floor. Just as the doors were about to close, a small man slid gracefully in with him. He was a funny looking guy, with an undercut and storm grey eyes which glanced at Eren’s bags.

‘You’re new here, I’m assuming.’ His voice was sharp and clear, yet carried the faintest undertone of a London accent.

‘Uh, yeah. Just got down from Sheffield like, ten minutes ago.’ Eren smiled, hoping to elicit some kind of friendly greeting from the man. 

‘And you’re on the fourth floor?’ The man raised an eyebrow. ‘What number?’

‘201. You’re on this floor too?’ Eren asked as the elevator slid to a stop and its doors opened. The man started to walk out.

‘Ah, well I’m 202. I expect we’ll see each other around.’ He called over his shoulder as he strode down the corridor.

‘Uh..sure. Okay.’ Eren was a little miffed at the lack of introduction. Were all Southerners just a bit weird? He shook his head and walked out, key dangling from his finger as he tried to find 201. It wasn’t too far down, and he slid the key into the lock, opening the door to his new apartment. It was nice inside, with french windows leading out to a small balcony in the living room, a small kitchen and down a corridor, there was a fair sized bedroom with an en suite bathroom. Perfect for one person. Eren looked around the living room and breathed in.

‘Home sweet home.’ 

 

Luckily, the place had come fully furnished, with a sofa, armchair, kitchen table and chairs, computer desk (with a swivel chair Eren knew he would break in seconds) and a bed. It was lacking in kitchen appliances, and of course, personal effects. Over the next week he planned to put pictures of his friends back home up, and some pictures of his mother, of course, but for now he focused on unpacking all his clothes into drawers and generally settling in. He took his bags to the bedroom, pulled out his ipod and dock, put some music on and set about sorting his clothes into his wardrobe. Panic! At The Disco’s _Bittersweet_ came on and he started to dance around his room, at this point he was more flinging clothes into random drawers than actually sorting, but he was having fun, and if there’s one thing Eren Jaeger deserved, it was a but of damn fun. 

The fun was cut short, however, when his phone rang. And it was _that_ number again. He shut his music off and with shaking fingers, pressed ‘answer’.

‘What the fuck do you want.’ Eren hissed through gritted teeth.

‘Okay, Eren, listen. I know you probably don’t want to talk to me right now-’ The familiar South London accent was cut off by Eren’s shout.

‘Right _now?_ Try _never._ Why are you even calling me? What do you want?’

‘I just want to talk. I realised that I was in the wrong and I want to smooth things over’

‘ _Fuck off,_ Jean. “In the wrong” doesn’t fucking cover what you did. You ruined _everything_ for me, don’t think you can just fucking call and make everything better!’ Eren’s voice had risen to a hoarse shout, forgetful of the fact he had neighbours. ‘Part of the reason I got this fucking job was so I could _forget_ about you.’ Eren was breathing hard.

‘But you still picked up the phone.’ Jean’s voice was almost a whisper.

‘I shouldn’t have.’ Eren growled and hung up, hands still shaking. He buried his head in his hands and slid his back against the wall until his was sitting hunched over.

 

In apartment 202, sharp ears picked up the sound of distressed shouting.

 

‘I don’t need him. I don’t want him. I _don’t_ need him. I don’t _want_ him.’ He repeated this over and over until he had ceased his shaking and his breathing had returned to normal. He padded into the kitchen and opened the fridge, searching for something to eat.

He had forgotten he had just moved in, and so the fridge was empty. He sighed. 

‘McDonalds it is.’ He grabbed a light jacket and his ipod and left his apartment to embark on a journey to find the closest McDonalds.

 

That night, Eren was restless. His journey had proved quite exciting; he ran into three hobos and one street performer who was overly enthusiastic about audience participation. He never did find a McDonald’s, but he found a Subway which was just as good. He also managed to get lost on the way home. And now, he was nervous about his first day at work back with horses again. 

 

6:30am. That was one thing Eren didn’t miss about horses. The early mornings. He groaned as he rolled over and slammed his hand on his phone to shut his alarm up. He remembered Erwin’s words over the phone; _‘We start at half seven, and it takes about twenty minutes to drive from your apartment.’_ He wanted to set off ten minutes early today, just in case he got lost, even though he had the address in his sat nav. He rolled out of bed and stumbled in to the shower where he marginally woke up. Once he had dried off, he pulled on a polo shirt and breeches, shoving his feet into trainers. He didn’t like driving with boots on. He checked his watch. 7:00am. Grabbing an apple, and being thankful he had thought to go shopping last night, he picked up his boots and made his way down to his car. When he got down to the car park, he saw the man from the lift yesterday pulling out of his parking spot.

_Huh, must have an early job as well._

He got into his car and turned of the sat nav, pulling out of his parking spot, he trusted it to take him to the right place.

 

Sure enough, twenty five minutes later, he drove through two black gates that, when shut, read _Freedom Wings Stables,_ which was the weirdest name for a stable Eren had ever heard, but whatever. The place was fucking fancy, with a spacious car park at the end of the driveway, in front of the courtyard which was visible through a red brick arch in the white walls. Eren got out of his car and whistled lowly. A tall woman with messy brown hair and glasses came out through the gap to meet him. 

‘Hi! Hello! You must be Eren! I’m Hanji. I believe you spoke to my husband, Erwin, over the phone?’ She stuck her hand out for Eren to shake, which he did, a little shell shocked my her enthusiasm and vigour. ‘Come, I’ll introduce you to the gang!’ She motioned for him to follow her, which he did until he stopped short, realising he still had his trainers on.

‘Shit, sorry. Mind if I just change into my boots first?’ He cringed, but Hanji just laughed and waved her hand. 

‘Of course, of course! I didn’t even realise!’ Eren hurriedly zipped up his boots and once again followed Hanji into the yard. He whistled again.

‘Swanky.’

In the centre of the concreted courtyard, there was a round fountain, surrounded by stables in white brick, next to another large white building, which Eren assumed to be the indoor stables. One corner led off into fields, and there were a few people milling about. Hanji led him through to the indoor stables, which were large and airy. There was a horse walker and a sizeable outdoor school. 

‘The indoor school’s just round there.’ Hanji indicated round the corner. ‘Now, let’s introduce you to the team!’ She gestured to a tall blonde man, who had the most impressive eyebrows Eren had ever seen. ‘That’s Erwin over there, he’s my husband. We co-own this whole place.’ Erwin looked up, smiled and waved at the pair before turning his attention back to the hoof he was picking out. 

‘Over there is Reiner and Armin. Armin’s the little one, and he is a guy, despite the hair.’ Eren looked over at the pair who were cleaning tack. They both waved and the three exchanged a friendly greeting word. 

‘That’s Marco, the guy with freckles.’ Hanji gestured over to a tall brunette coming over to them.

‘Hi there! You must be the new guy. I’m Marco.’ He grinned and extended a hand for Eren to shake, which he did, returning the grin.

‘Hi, I’m Eren. Glad to meet you.’ Marco smiled again before walking off.

‘Aaand over there, in that stable, we have Levi. He’s our star trainer. Don’t be deceived by his height.’

‘His height?’ Eren’s eyes widened as the stable door opened and a figure emerged from the darkness. It was the guy from the lift yesterday. ‘It’s you..’ was all Eren could manage as Levi strode over to them.

‘It’s me.’ Levi stated, one eyebrow slightly raised. ‘The one and only.’

‘Heh, sorry. I met you in the lift the other day, so you live next to me?’ Eren scratched the back of his neck. Short guy was kind of scary.

‘It would seem I do. Well, at least we can share lifts in the morning.’ Eren laughed nervously and agreed.

‘Say Levi, do you mind showing Eren around the horses? My lesson’s here.’ Hanji darted off, not leaving Levi with much of a choice.

‘Come on then, kid. I’ll show you around.’ Levi turned on his heel and started walking, closely followed by Eren. ‘Have a good first day in Bristol?’ He shot over his shoulder. 

Eren felt himself go red. Had Levi heard his conversation with Jean? He had been pretty loud after all.

‘Uh, it was nice.’ He stammered.

‘Mmmkay.’ Was all Levi said before stopping by the first horse’s stable. The lean, dun thoroughbred inside pinned its ears back as they approached. ‘This is Jean. He doesn’t like me. Don’t take it personal if he doesn’t like you either. He only likes Marco, and Marco’s the only one who likes him. Match made in heaven.’

Eren blanched. He even kind of fucking looked like Jean. ‘I doubt he would like me.’ He muttered. He couldn’t fucking escape the guy. It didn’t look like they would hit it off. 

Levi watched with his head cocked to one side but made no comment, moving swiftly on. ‘This is my girl, Petra.’ A pretty chestnut mare poked her head out and nuzzled into Levi’s shoulder. ‘I’ve had her since she was a baby.’ He absently scratched at her poll.

‘How old is she now?’

‘Six. Just coming into the more difficult movements. She’s a fast learner, and she has beautiful natural paces and changes, which is perfect.’ Eren smiled at how doting Levi sounded. It reminded him of his old horse, Sparta. He was a little fireball with bucketloads of talent.

Levi moved on to the next horse. ‘This is Holt, but we call him Colossus.’ Eren could see why. The black stallion must have been at least 17.2hh. He seemed friendly enough, though. ‘He’s a huge softie despite his size, I don’t ride him much but he’s favoured by Reiner.’

The last horse in the row was a striking black mare at about 16hh. As they approached she pinned her ears back at Levi, who sighed. ‘This is Mikasa. She hates me. No idea why, she gets on fine with everyone else. I just seem to give off the wrong vibes.

There was something about the mare Eren liked. He tentatively put his hand out to let her sniff his hand, which she nudged softly.

‘Huh. Would you look at that. She like you. Why is it just me?’ Levi mused. 

 

The rest of the tour went fairly quickly, Levi telling a little about each horse. Once they were done, they returned to the main yard where Armin had gathered a group of the workers.

‘Doing a coffee run. You guys want anything?’ Armin asked.

‘A black coffee with no sugar would be great, thanks.’ Eren smiled.

‘Good man.’ Levi clapped him on the shoulder. ‘Milk and sugar is for the weak.’

Eren laughed nervously. ‘I’ve never liked milk and sugar in my coffee, it takes away from the actual taste.’

‘A man after your own heart, Levi!’ Reiner piped up, making everyone laugh.

 

Eren stood there laughing with the rest of them while Levi rolled his eyes.

_I’m going to like it here._


	2. First ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WOAH sorry its so late i got caught up with holidays and exams and stuff but enjoy this chapter where some kind of stuff happens

No matter how many early mornings Eren had to live through, they would never be a normal thing to him. Having _R U Mine_ blasting you out of sleep at seven in the morning was not Eren’s favourite way to start the day, but nevertheless he slammed a hand on his phone to shut it up and groaned before rolling out of bed. He had an hour before he had to be at work, but Levi had said he would pick him up at half seven, and so he had to get a move on and get some clothes on. Somehow, he didn’t think Levi would appreciate him opening the door shirtless, and so he pulled a polo over his head and rifled through his drawers for some boxes and breeches. Finding a pair, he discarded his pyjamas, flinging them over his bed and pulled on his clothes and a pair of socks. He checked his phone. It was only 7:15, Levi wouldn’t be here for another quarter of an hour, so Eren poured himself some cereal and leant against the counter, looking out over the park behind the flats and the June sunrise which saw people walking their dogs, children walking to school, early morning runners and a couple of people doing yoga. Eren never understood why people would do yoga in public; what if you tried to twist yourself into some position and just made a fool of yourself? Eren didn’t really understand yoga period. He finished his cereal and put his bowl in the sink-he’d wash up when he got home after dinner-and, finding he was still hungry, grabbed a cereal bar.

 

Levi locked the door to his apartment and swung his jacket over his shoulder. Eren’s apartment was the weirdest of coincidences, the fact he would not only work with Levi but live right next to him, though Levi wasn’t complaining, especially after the deal he had made with him.

_‘So...you want a lift to work tomorrow? It doesn’t really make sense for both of us to be driving to work since we live next to each other.’_

_Eren smiled and nodded. ‘I’d like that. But I can’t let you use petrol taking me to work without returning the favour. How about you take me one week and I’ll take you the next, and so on?’_

_‘Sounds like a deal, kid.’_

_Eren laughed. ‘I’m only five years younger, you know.’_

Levi groaned internally. He’d known the kid a _day_ and already he couldn’t stop thinking about how polite he was, how he smiled like fucking sunshine, how his eyes lit up when he was talking. He wasn’t Levi’s to think about, and judging by the phonecall he had overheard, Eren wasn’t in a place to think about relationships.

_Relationships. What the fuck, Levi. You’ve known him a day._

Levi shook his head and pressed Eren’s doorbell. 7:28. Eren better be ready.

 

Two seconds later, the door swung open to reveal Eren, holding a cereal bar between his teeth

‘Ah! you’re-’ He took the cereal bar out of his mouth and cleared his throat. ‘You’re here. Lemme just grab my boots.’ He disappeared inside, leaving Levi blinking in the doorway. He hadn’t completely registered what Eren had said, truth be told. He had been a bit distracted by Eren’s polo shirt, with its collar all ruffled and his collarbones on full display. 

 

Eren appeared at the doorway again. ‘Right, ready. Shall we?’ He locked his door as Levi agreed and started walking down the hall to the lift. Once they were in the lift, Levi stole a glance at Eren, who was fiddling with his phone.

‘So...what do you think of the yard crew?’

Eren laughed. ‘They seem like great people. Some of them seem kind of...enthusiastic, but-’

‘Hanji’s a psycho, it’s a well known fact.’ Levi commented dryly.

Eren laughed again. ‘Yeah, she seems pretty...yeah.’ He trailed off, unsure of a suitable word to use. Levi smirked. He really was quite cute.

‘We’re a good bunch really. A little crazy but aren’t all horse people?’

Eren smirked. ‘Yeah, come to think of it, they are.’

The lift dinged, signaling their arrival at the car park, where they made their way over to Levi’s car.

‘Nice car, by the way.’ Eren gave an appreciative look at the silver Mercedes G Wagon. ‘How much did that set you back?’

‘She’s a beauty, isn’t she? And I don’t know, it was a present from my parents for my 21st birthday.’ 

‘Lucky. I got five hundred pounds and a boot out of the house by my dad for my eighteenth.’ Levi’s gaze shot upwards to Eren.

‘I’m...sorry about that.’

‘Oh, it’s fine. I’m over it!’ Eren laughed airily and waved his hand. ‘Sorry for like, springing that on you, though.’

Levi smiled to himself and shook his head. The kid had less of a filter than Hanji. He couldn’t wait to see what he was like drunk.

 

The drive was relatively quiet, neither party having much to contribute to the conversation and so Radio 1 filled the interior of the car for the majority of the journey. Levi finally spoke up.

‘Think you’d be up for riding something today? What’s it been, two years? I don’t know about you, but I’d be itching to get back in that saddle.’ 

Eren swallowed. ‘Uh-yeah, I guess. I hadn’t given it a lot of thought, to be honest, but...’

‘Well, I’ll see what I can do. A lot of clients like their horses warmed up before they ride. Lazy fucks.’ He added in an undertone. Eren laughed, and Levi smirked. ‘I never said that.’

Eren grinned and nodded. ‘My lips are sealed.’

Presently they pulled into the car park and walked into the yard. A couple of people were milling about; Armin was leading Holt across the yard and Marco was mucking out Jean’s stable. Hanji appeared from around the corner, admittedly startling Eren. Levi seemed completely unfazed, as usual. 

‘Ah, you’re here! We’ll get these stables mucked out and then Jean and Marly can go out; they don’t have lessons today. We have Carolyn on Danco at ten, I’ll take her. Levi, could you take Miranda on Mikasa at twelve? Then Erwin’ll do Stephen on Rudy at two, and that’s all we have.’

‘Sure.’ Levi picked up two pitchforks and handed one to Eren.

The morning routine passed, punctuated with Reiner bringing coffee when everything was mucked out and swept. Eren tacked up Danco, a small fleabitten grey gelding who seemed to take a liking to Eren’s collar, and wouldn’t stop trying to grab at it. By eleven, the beds had been put down and haynets had been filled, and so there wasn’t a lot to do besides wait until the twelve o’clock lesson. Eren found Levi having a cigarette behind the back of the stables.

‘You’re allowed to smoke on the yard?’

‘So long as I’m not near horses or dry hay, nobody really minds.’ Levi blew a cloud of smoke up into the sky. Eren hadn’t realised how fixated his gaze had become on Levi’s lips, and the cigarette dangling lazily between them. He only snapped out of his daze when Levi pulled the cigarette away to blow another cloud of smoke skywards, before dropping the cigarette on the ground and squashing it beneath the heel of his boot. Checking his watch, he realised it was quarter to twelve, and went to tack up Mikasa. He wanted to get her out early, and hopefully he could convince Eren to warm her up. He was eager to see how the boy rode, and if he could make something out of it. He grabbed Mikasa’s tack and slung it over her stable door. The black mare pinned her ears back when he entered her stable. He rolled his eyes.

‘Fucking deal with it, princess.’ He proceeded to slide the bit between her teeth and fasten her bridle, nimbly dodging attacks. She stood relatively still as he slung the numnah and saddle over her back, but as soon as he started to tighten the girth, she swung her head round and attempted to land a vicious nip to his side, which he quickly deflected with a thwack between the eyes and a growl. ‘What do you have against me? I’ve never actually _done_ anything to piss you off.’ He grabbed her rein and led her out of the stable, her high step resonating through the yard. Eren was leaning against the wall of the tack room, watching.

‘She really hates you, huh?’ He smiled slightly at the interaction between the two. Levi pulled a face.

‘You wanna warm her up? Miranda’s always late, so you’ve probably got, like, twenty minutes. 

 

Eren swallowed. It had been two years since he had put his foot in a stirrup. He had dreamed about getting back on a horse again but now the opportunity was right in front of him, he wasn’t so sure. 

_What the fuck are you thinking. Get on the goddamn horse._

‘Uh-yeah. Sure. Lemme just grab a hat and whip.’

‘I’ll have her down by the mounting block.’

Eren fastened the hat on his head and picked up a dark green schooling whip, twirling it in his hands. Taking a deep breath, he walked down and stepped onto the mounting block. He felt a shiver run up through his fingers as he took hold of the pommel and slipped his foot into the stirrup, and lightly bounced up into the saddle, putting his other foot in the stirrup. This was good, this was familiar. It was only two years since he had been here.

‘Stirrups alright for you?’ Levi asked while tightening Mikasa’s girth a couple of notches.

‘Yeah, they’re fine, thanks.’

‘Alright, good. Just work her in on a long rein for a few minutes, then you can do whatever you want.’ He leant back against the stables, watching. He thought it best not to leave Eren alone considering he hadn’t ridden in two years, however competent he might seem. At least he seemed to be getting along with Mikasa. 

 

Mikasa ambled round the school, stretching her neck low while Eren got used to the feeling of being on the back of a living, breathing twelve hundred pound animal. It all came back fairly well, at least the basics. He remembered how to hold the reins and how to sit with correct posture. After a few laps of the school on each rein, he gathered up the reins just a little and eased her into trot. Her trot was light and springy, throwing Eren off balance a little before he settled into the rhythm of rising and falling with the trot. He’d forgotten how much there was to concentrate on. Meanwhile, Levi was watching with his head cocked to one side. He didn’t notice Marco come up beside him.

‘He’s not bad, for someone who hasn’t been in the saddle a while.’ He mused, making Levi jump. He’d been fixed on the way Eren’s tanned hands gently flexed and softened the reins, encouraging Mikasa into accepting the bit.

‘Hm-yeah, he’s okay. I’m guessing he rode to quite a high level before, considering his seat.’ He said, keeping his eyes on Eren as he pushed Mikasa forward into canter, her head dipping and her back rounding to create a pretty outline. Eren had picked up the reins a little further to create more of a contact. He clearly knew what he was doing. Levi could have happily stood and watched Eren ride all day; he made it look so natural and fluid, but he heard the familiar crunch of tyres on the car park, and a woman with curly brown hair and sunglasses walked through.

‘Hi Levi!’ Miranda flashed a dazzling smile his way. He was convinced those teeth were fake.

‘Hi there, Miranda. Eren’s just finished warming up Mikasa for you.’ He gestured to the school, where Eren was now bringing Mikasa to the gate. He took her up to the mounting block and dismounted smoothly, where he held her, waiting for Levi to come over and take her for Miranda.

‘Thanks, Eren.’ Levi took the reins from his hands.

‘Thank you too, Levi. Really.’ Eren gave Levi a small smile before disappearing back inside the yard, a sunshine grin gracing his features. 

‘So, how was that?’ Marco smiled, shaking up a bale of straw.

‘Awesome! Really, really good.’ Eren couldn’t stop smiling. Marco chuckled. This guy was going to be great.

‘Hey-Eren. We’re all going out this weekend for my birthday-wanna join us? We’re great to party with.’ Marco grinned, somewhat mischievously.

‘Yeah, sure; sounds fun.’ Eren grinned back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter y'all are gonna find out the best thing about horsey people. They can drink. A lot.

**Author's Note:**

> this is what the yard should look like  
> http://www.hockwoldlodgestud.com/horse-livery.php#!prettyPhoto
> 
> bye omg


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